Elina Svitolina makes an excellent tournament at the WTA 1000 in Madrid. While she had never exceeded the second round in the Spanish capital before this year, the Ukrainian, 17th in the world, chained four consecutive successes, against Sonay Kartal, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari and Moyuka Uchijima, all without losing a set.
Currently, Svitolina is still undefeated on clay in 2025 and is on a series of 11 row victories on this surface, without ever conceding a single round to its opponents.
After his success against the Japanese (6-2, 6-1), Svitolina, who will return to the top 15 next week for the first time since her return to pregnancy, presented himself at a press conference and spoke of her tournament in Madrid. She has been satisfied with her tennis for several weeks.
“I am very satisfied with my level of play so far in Madrid. Since the start of the tournament, I have been able to stay calm. This is the first time that I have played really well here. I always wanted to be performing here because I appreciate the tournament and the shorts.
So I am happy to qualify for the semi-finals. When you work hard, you want to play well. You want work to pay in match. But to be honest, I had no particular expectations.
I just tried to work well physically, to be ready for long rallies. My main goal was to avoid injury. I know I can play well on clay. My titles in Rome (2017 and 2018) and Strasbourg (2020 and 2023) prove it, ”assured the former world number 3 for the team.
In the semi-finals, Svitolina will have a major test and will be opposed to the world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, against whom the Ukrainian won only one match in their direct confrontations.
However, the WTA Finals winner in 2018 is used to playing well against the circuit references, and has already won 7 games against the players at the top of the ranking since the start of her career, a record among active players.
Nevertheless, the one who has just been crowned at the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen knows that the task will be difficult against Belarusian, this Thursday in night session on the court Manolo Santana.
“I played against Aryna several times last year, and we had great battles. The defeat after having two match balls in Rome was a huge fight on the court. So, yes, it will be a big challenge for me, ”she concludes for the WTA media.
